It’s unfortunate but true that many people will leave a website almost as soon as they arrive if it doesn’t meet their minimal standards for design and content. I do this myself nearly every day.
Like it or not, you are a professional – a creative professional – and even though your ear may be better than your eye, developing a professional and attractive website is a priority that few music teachers can afford to avoid these days.
This series of posts offers 25 strategies for doing just that, in the form of questions to ask yourself. In this post, we’ll look at the first five strategies.
#1. You’re Selling a Service, Right?
You are selling a service – piano lessons – rather than a product. Businesses that sell services need to place additional emphasis on the personal. Make sure your site has a photo of you, because you are the business. A smiling photo is optimal. Other photos – of your students, for example – are icing on the cake.
#2. Have You Included Testimonials?
Are there testimonials on your site that demonstrate how wonderful you are? It’s great to have a bunch of testimonials on your home page, but the consensus is that it’s even better to have testimonials strategically placed throughout your site.
#3. Who Is Your Target Audience?
Who are your students? Knowing your site’s audience is a criterion for developing a site that does what it’s supposed to do – sell your teaching services. How well do you know your prospective students, demographically and psychographically?
Considering the characteristics of your current students is a good starting point. Once you have a clear picture of who your students are and are likely to be, think about the information and communication style that would work best to reach and excite them. Content needed to persuade prospective adult students that you are the best teacher for them will be different than content needed to persuade parents that you are the best teacher for their children.
#4. What is Your Positioning Statement?
In a five-year study performed by the marketing company Eureka! Ranch, marketing messages that overtly highlighted a product or service’s difference from the competition were 50% more likely to succeed in the marketplace.
Your positioning statement or Unique Value Proposition describes the meaningful difference between you and your competitors. What truly sets your studio apart?
#5. Do You Serve Multiple Geographical Area(s)?
If you serve several specific areas or cities, consider creating a dedicated page on your website for each. These pages will likely rank higher in search results and will more likely be found by someone searching for “[city] piano lessons.”
I offer piano lessons in Portland, Oregon. Taking my own advice, I might also want to create dedicated pages about piano lessons for nearby cities Beaverton OR, Gresham OR, and Vancouver WA.
How many of these strategies can you implement before learning about Strategies #6 through #10 in Part 2 of this series?